News: Op-Ed

Steve’s breakdown: 4A’s and ANA surveyed marketers and agencies on what’s important. Read on . . . EVERYWHERE, USA: Pitching for new business is filled with problems. Pitches are too long, often dragged out for no reason, expensive and filled with secrecy and a lack of communication and feedback. A new initiative from the 4A’s […]

Steve’s breakdown: The 2022 annual Loyalty Leaders List gives the loyalty rankings for the top 100 brands, out of the 1,624 brands we assessed in a cross-category analysis of 142 industry categories identified in the 2022 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Plenty of opportunity to look into . . .  

Steve’s breakdown: We shared the worst songs to ever appear in ads. Now, here are some of the most inspired tracks used to sell everything from cars and kicks to California raisins. Pressing play on the right track for an ad ain’t easy / Credit: Adobe Stock A great song in an ad can make it, […]

Steve’s breakdown: This is just a little wisdom from the industry. “You want them to say ‘yes’ to an attractive opportunity—not “no” to an ugly process” EVERYWHERE, USA: Top agencies have always been selective about the work they accept—making sure a client is a good fit, their timeline respects holidays and weekends, their fee matches […]

Steve’s breakdown: The headline is: Planet Fitness appointed Barkley its agency of record after 11 months of working with a bespoke team at Publicis. I have been saying for years to call back ex-clients and clients you pitched and lost. If there is any low hanging fruit – there it is!!! (For crying out loud) […]

Steve’s breakdown: If I were to pick one of these clients to approach, it would be tinder. Harris Beber, chief marketing officer, Waze Waze As the Google-owned navigation app seeks to rebound from pandemic declines, it’s looking to Beber, whom it hired in April, to help it reach new audiences, engage with users, and expand its […]

Steve’s breakdown: My opinion on this is it depends on the amount of resources it will take to win the business. Plus accounts like this usually come with a lot of caché & exposure. So as with most situations, I say go for it unless it’s a major up hill battle. EVERYWHERE, USA: What do […]

Steve’s breakdown: Sometimes we just like to pass along research. Here’s some from R3. I personally don’t agree with lots of what’s said in the article but I’ll be happy to discuss it with you. EVERYWHERE, USA: Mediahub’s global leader, John Moore, hasn’t defended a piece of business in years. By the time accounts get […]

Steve’s breakdown: Here’s some good news regarding clients counting on ad agencies instead of doing it in-house. EVERYWHERE, USA: A majority (58%) of CMOs are comfortable or very comfortable developing and executing a TV buying strategy in an increasingly complex video environment, according to a survey of marketers commissioned by The CMO Club and shopper intelligence provider […]

Agencies Reveal Their Red Flags When Evaluating New Business Opportunities EVERYWHERE, USA: Thanks to a series of tweets from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the subsequent replies from The Martin Agency CEO Kristen Cavallo, a spotlight was put not just on who owns intellectual property from a pitch, but the whole new business process. The majority of […]

Steve’s breakdown: As a new business professional my entire career, I’ve always have been in favor of doing spec work to get into certain clients board rooms. The fact is it works. For me personally, doing spec work got my agencies Coty, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Roll Royce Motor […]

Steve’s breakdown: 12 top marketers confess their non-negotiables and red flags EVERYWHERE, USA: Before settling down with Chipotle, Chris Brandt had been around the block. The chief marketing officer has made stops at General Mills, Coca-Cola and Taco Bell, so he’s learned a thing or two about working with ad agencies. And just as all symbiotic […]

As citizens of the world, we all should take an active role and work with others to make our planet more peaceful. We can’t be like agencies in the Ukraine who “are ready to fight to the death” but we should have their backs. What to do? Pitch every client you have a pro-Ukraine campaign. […]

Steve’s breakdown: Two years of changing consumer priorities has led brands to rethink how they go to market and the outside expertise needed to get there. EVERYWHERE, USA: Last year was full of headline-grabbing account reviews and consolidations, as blue-chip brands such as Coca-Cola, Facebook/Meta and Unilever shifted billions of dollars in business to new agencies or consolidated accounts at existing roster agencies. […]

Steve’s breakdown: We don’t actually agree with the order of this list (Bozoma will be gone from Netflix in months) but nevertheless, it covers all the important ones. If you want any contact information regarding these folks, let us know and we’ll get it over to ya. 1. Bozoma Saint John Title: Chief Marketing Officer Company: Netflix […]

Steve’s breakdown: Well the 4As did something great. They released an agency review participation contract to curb ghosting and other bad practices. As if it wasn’t bad enough to wait weeks for a decision, never hearing anything has got to stop and here’s how! EVERYWHERE, USA: The 4A’s is releasing an agency review participation agreement […]

Steve’s breakdown: We know it’s stupid to say “that’s a great idea – pitch it to your clients”. I mean, we’re not stupid but maybe a little. The thing here is, if “Joey no Brainy” can get a concept & execute it in no time flat, that’s a thing!  Just sayin’. This one: Betting on […]

Steve’s breakdown: And now for some good news! EVERYWHERE, USA: Ad giants like WPP and Omnicom are hiring again across departments after a crushing 2020. Agencies including VMLY&R, R/GA, and The Martin Agency have open roles at a variety of levels. But some recruiters say finding candidates to fill the roles has been difficult. After […]

Steve’s breakdown: “Setup’s third annual Marketing Relationship Survey sought insight from major brand and agency leaders and found 1/3 are considering an agency change.” That statement could scare some agencies but make the hungry ones drool. EVERYWHERE, USA: Nearly one-third of U.S. brands may be contemplating switching up their ad agency in the next six […]

Steve’s breakdown: There’s a lot here to unpack but it’s worth a look. EVERYWHERE, USA: Millennials still can’t get enough of Apple, Nike, and Amazon. Marketing agency Moosylvania has once again compiled its “Millennials’ Top 100 Brands” based on a survey of 1,000 millennial consumers. While some of the top brands stick around year after […]

Steve’s breakdown: If you are asking how this news is a new business lead, then it’s probably not. On the other hand, we believe there are dozens of possible ways to turn this into an agency opportunity. Let me know what you think . . . Here’s the headline that came out yesterday: If You […]

Steve’s breakdown: Agencies ask me about search consultants all the time. The main thing about these folks is you should be aware of them. Maybe even make friends with them. This is especially important if you are an Independent Agency because they always call the giant holding companies like WPP, IPG etc first. On the […]

Steve’s breakdown: Just a little something from The Wall Street Journal we thought would be interesting. EVERYWHERE, USA: New research suggests having a model look away from the camera makes an emotional ad more effective; the opposite is true of an ad designed to be informative To make an ad more effective, sometimes it pays […]

Steve’s breakdown: Say what you want but last Wednesday “is a day that will live in infamy”, to quote FDR, and corporate America is just not having it. So where’s the new business lead? It’s a moving target but there will be a lot of cash that’s not going where it was planned to go […]

Steve’s breakdown: Nobody’s leaving 2020 unscathed — especially marketers. But according to CallRail’s research, many agencies weathered storm after storm surprisingly well. They surveyed 167 global digital marketing agency leaders and found that many actually expect increased revenue from 2019. Those who profited most reassessed and reevaluated their businesses. This report reveals the steps they […]

. . . because we can see the end is sight. Steve’s Just Sayin’: This is no time to muddle through work. Yeah, a lot of us did during the summer but now it’s time to power through! So here’s the plan: Be the first to contact that perfect client for your agency we write […]

Steve’s breakdown: Just wanted to share this good news to most or our membership. That’s right, most of our members are not part of a holding company and it is our hope more will split away from the lumbering behemoths. BTW: The image is from a presentation given by an executive of the indie agency […]

Steve’s breakdown: So here’s Forbes list of the World’s Most Influential CMO’s. And we have the full report at this link: The World’s Most Influential CMOs Send them a note of Congratulations and start a conversation. #1 Phil Schiller Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, Apple Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference went virtual this year, […]

Steve’s breakdown: As if you didn’t know this already but including a social justice campaign in a new business pitch might just put you over the top. Just a thought . . . EVERYWHERE, USA: A new study from New York-based ad agency Oberland finds 91% of Americans believe their actions and the actions of […]

Steve’s breakdown: Something to think about when planning your pitch list . . . EVERYWHERE, USA: The COVID-19 pandemic and recent racial justice issues have changed the brand preferences of 45% of consumers, according to a new report from communications firm Ketchum. The report identified four pandemic personas: retro reengagers, open-minded explorers, worried withholders and cautious […]

Steve’s breakdown: A study found that half of brand marketers felt “dissatisfied” with their COVID-19 responses. That’s a lot of unhappy people and therefore opens a lot of doors for pitches to fix the situation. Don’t ya think? So start sending out those “Are You Dissatisfied” letters today!!! EVERYWHERE, USA: Roughly half of brand marketers […]